The 9th annual walk like MADD and MADD dash was held on Sept. 25 at Riverwalk Park and hosted by Chain Cohn Clark law firm.

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness and funds for drunk and drug induced driving. 

The event began with a range of speakers including the surviving parents of car crash victims, Mayor Karen Goh, and CHP officers.

They proceeded with a kids’ race and a 5k walk/run where many family survivors gathered together to spread awareness of just how devastating these accidents can be.

In fact, they had a display of a damaged truck, which held an innocent young boy who lost his life when another individual slammed directly into him after running through a red light. This allowed the reality of driving under these circumstances to hit home.

The attempt for prevention continues year after year. In a statement, Carla Pearson, victim service specialist said “We won’t stop speaking out about this 100% preventable crime until we see zero crashes caused by impaired drivers on our roadways.”

According to a news release, the event raised over $55,000 which will be used for educational programs, prevention services and to support local crash victims.